Still Happens Every Day

I don’t listen to a lot of country music. Over the years, my wife has softened my stance on it, but it’s still not usually the first place I go looking for something new.

Every once in a while, though, an album comes along that gets through whatever musical boundaries I think I have. The Dirt Drifters’ This Is My Blood was one of those albums.

I believe I discovered The Dirt Drifters through iTunes Discovery, but I don’t really remember. I guess it doesn’t matter. The first song I downloaded was the “Always a Reason” single. This was shortly before the album came out. Whatever led me to it, I liked what I heard enough to want more.

When I got the album, it didn’t disappoint. They were a country band, but there was enough rock in their sound to pull me in. I thought they could have crossed over and found an audience beyond country radio. They already had me.

This Is My Blood came out in 2011, which means it turns 15 this year. It’s a good excuse to revisit an album I still think deserved more attention.

“Always a Reason” was the song that introduced me to The Dirt Drifters, but there was plenty more to like when I heard the album. “Something Better,” “There She Goes,” “Hurt Somebody,” and “Sun Goes Down” are other favorites.

“Something Better” opens the album with a song about working hard, barely getting by, and hoping there’s something better ahead. There’s plenty of rock in it, which probably helps explain why this country band caught my attention. It’s the kind of song that made me want to see what they could do live.

“Always a Reason” takes the familiar country drinking song and finds reasons to celebrate or drown your sorrows in the everyday lives of people around town. It was a good introduction to their songwriting. There’s more going on than just finding an excuse to have another beer.

“There She Goes” deals with a woman leaving and the guy who should have seen it coming. The backing vocals are a big part of the song, giving it a different feel from the harder-driving tracks. “Hurt Somebody” slows things down further, with a guy who knows he’s probably headed for heartbreak but can’t help himself.

Then there’s “Sun Goes Down,” with its young, reckless nights, bad decisions, and willingness to go out and do it all again. Between the songs about work, relationships, and getting into trouble, they covered a lot of ground that fit just as comfortably with my rock collection.

I was excited when I heard they were touring. I kept hoping they would come to Kansas City, or at least somewhere close enough that I could go see them. Then, suddenly, the shows were canceled. The band cited private, personal issues, and it wasn’t clear whether they would continue.

That was disappointing. I had found a band I really liked, and just when I was looking forward to seeing what came next, everything stopped.

Over the years, there have been occasional signs of life. Two volumes of demos showed up on Spotify, giving me more music to listen to. Unfortunately, only volume two is still there when I look now. I’ve kept hoping there might eventually be something more.

In the meantime, I continued following Jeff Middleton, one of the band’s guitarists and songwriters. He had helped write “Always a Reason,” the song that first hooked me, and I kept track of his songwriting after The Dirt Drifters. His name turned up on songs recorded by other country artists, including “Drowns the Whiskey” by Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert.

Then I heard about a service called Songfinch.

The idea was simple. You give them your story, answer a series of questions, and someone writes a song for you. You could choose the style and the songwriter.

For Christmas in 2022, I decided to have a song written for Mandy about how we met and how happy she makes me.

When I found out I could choose Jeff Middleton, that got my attention. The album was already a favorite that Mandy and I shared. Our musical tastes don’t always line up, but The Dirt Drifters were a band we could agree on. That made choosing Jeff Middleton to write a song about us even more meaningful. He was already part of music we both loved.

About a week later, I received an email with our song.

It was called “Still Happens Every Day.”

There’s something strange about hearing someone sing details from your own life. These weren’t lyrics I could loosely connect to our relationship. They were about us.

The song started with our first meeting:

First time we met
You slammed a door in my face
Little did we know
We’d laugh about it someday

Then came that cold December night at The Hawk, sitting in a booth, and finally getting up the nerve to ask Mandy whether she would hit me if I kissed her.

She said she wouldn’t.

Jeff took the details I had sent and made them into a song. And when the chorus came around, there was her name:

It didn’t take my heart long to realize
That I was lost in your Angel Eyes
Started the first time I saw you and you took my breath away
Mandy, it still happens
Still happens every day

This was supposed to be a Christmas present. I had every intention of waiting.

I was too excited.

So I did what people do in the commercials for these services. I played it for her in the car.

I told her I had found a new song I really liked.

As she started listening, she looked at me with a WTH expression. She didn’t know I’d had it made, but she was hearing things that sounded awfully familiar.

Then the lyrics really hit home when he sang her name, and she asked how I did this.

It was a great moment.

She cried. I cried. God, I love her.

I first discovered Jeff Middleton through a song I downloaded on iTunes. Years later, he wrote one about how I met my wife and how she still makes me feel.

I wish I would have filmed the moment I played it for her.

Then again, I’m glad it’s just our moment.

What song has a special meaning for you and your partner?